Carbon and Organic Compounds

organic chemistry

study of compounds that contain carbon

organic molecules

any carbon-containing liquid, solid, or gas (macromolecule) that is necessary for life

how many extra electrons does carbon need to fill it’s valence shell

4 which makes it universal and a great building block

carbon only form what type of bond?

covalent bonds to as many as four different atoms
these bonds can be polar or nonpolar

hydrocarbons

organic molecules made entirely of carbon and hydrogen

hydrocarbons have only what bonds?

C-C and C-H which are electrically neutral and nonpolar

hydrocarbon chains

multiple hydrocarbons attached together by their carbon atoms

backbone of large molecules of living things and can have multiple geometries and bond types

tetrahedrals

form when 1 carbon atom forms single bonds to other atoms

planar

molecules form when 2 carbon atoms are double bonded

aliphatic hydrocarbons

made of linear chains of carbon atoms (more than 2 carbons that only form single bonds)

aromatic hydrocarbons

closed rings of carbon atoms made of alternating single and double bonds

isomer

molecules that share the same chemical formula but differ in the structure of their atoms and/or properties

three kinds of isomers:

structural, geometric, and enantiomers

structural isomers

differ in the placement of their covalent bonds

geometric isomers

have the same covalent bonds, but differ in their spacial arrangement (a.k.a. cis-trans isomers)

enantiomers

molecules that share the same chemical structure and bonds but differ in the 3-D placement of atoms, so they are mirror images of each other

non-superimposable

cannot be placed on top of each other and matched

functional groups

groups of atoms attached to a molecule that:
1. provides polarity or charge
2. give unique chemical properties to molecules
3. are transferred as a group during chemical reactions

7 common groups most important for life

hydroxyl, methyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, phosphate, sulfhydryl